The darkest nights of the year are quickly approaching the Northern Hemisphere and more chances for sky gazing. The sun has also entered its solar maximum and this is the time of year to keep an eye out for the Northern Lights. Some areas could see more auroras like we did in October. There is a chance to see three meteor showers this month and our closest planetary neighbor Venus will be particularly bright this month. Here’s what to look out for this November.
To kick off the month, Mars will be at a very bright magnitude. It rises at midnight on November 1 and will be positioned just below the Gemini twins–Castor and Pollux. Jupiter will also be next to Gemini around this time. To catch it, look towards the southern sky.
The New Moon occurs November 1st in Scorpio. This lunation signals a new beginning and encourages us to move out of our comfort zone and welcome new ways to live, heal, and transform. It’s a time for taking a good look at what we may have been ignoring.
We might want to use this cycle to focus on one special project or relationship to help add purpose and depth to our lives. Intimate relationships need a brand new approach and we can see this more clearly in the days following this New Moon. This lunation occurs when Mars and Pluto, Scorpio’s rulers, oppose one another, suggesting a strong and perhaps problematic ambition and drive. Its trine to Saturn helps ground us, however.
On November 2nd, Jupiter forms a sextile with Chiron. With this influence, our attempts to broaden our horizons through furthering our education, activities, and spirituality, contribute to our personal growth. This subtly uplifting time brings us the opportunity to free ourselves from restrictive and negative attitudes that have been undermining our progress. We are especially open to learning from others, and we are better able to help others understand our point of view. We might open our minds to different perspectives and philosophies. We are absorbing what we’ve learned from past experiences and mistakes. There may be an emphasis on health and wellness. We might recognize the need to boost our physical and mental wellness so that we can grow and thrive.
The first meteor shower of the month is predicted to peak around November 5th. Both of the Taurids meteor showers don’t have very definite peaks. Instead, these meteors ramble along in space and are especially noticeable from late October into early November, when both the Southern and Northern Taurids overlap.
It will be best to view this meteor shower around midnight on the days around November 5 under dark skies with no moon. Both South Taurids produce about five meteors per hour and 10 total when the North and South Taurids overlap. Fireballs are also possible. Taurid meteors are slower than those from other meteor showers, but can be very bright. The Taurids are visible almost everywhere on Earth, except for the South Pole.
This year, the full moon will likely block out the best meteors from the Northern Taurids. It is predicted to peak on November 12, when the moon will be about 82 percent illuminated. Ideal viewing time will be around midnight. The Taurid meteor shower appears to be coming from the direction of the Taurus constellation for both the Northern and Southern Taurids.
On November 15th, the Full Moon occurs in Taurus. This is also the final supermoon of 2024. November’s full moon is called the Beaver Moon in reference to the time of year when beavers begin to shelter in their lodges, after storing up food for the winter. The Taurus Full Moon serves to reawaken an urgent interest in the physical world and our own sensual needs and desires. We should watch for stubbornness, although some self-interest is healthy and necessary. The Moon is tightly aligned with Uranus, bringing some excitement and/or tension to our lives, leading to a new perspective. There can be some unpredictability and surprises.
Also on November 15th, Saturn stations and turns direct after retrograde motion since June 29th. This change of direction serves as a strong reminder to take care of our responsibilities and set realistic goals. With Saturn’s direct turn, our responsibilities, and maybe our limitations, magnify. Gradually, our longer-term goals and plans become clearer.
The full moon will also wash out some of the meteors for the final meteor shower of the month on November 17. Watching from a spot that will give you a wide expanse of sky while blocking out the moonlight will give the best chance to see meteors, like a plateau area with some mountains or hills that can block the moon. Fireballs like the ones in the Taurids meteor showers are also possible for the Leonids and might not be washed out by the moonlight.
On November 19th, Pluto enters Aquarius. This is the ingress into Aquarius that will be with us for the long haul. Pluto officially leaves Capricorn now after a slow transition. Pluto will be in Aquarius nearly 19 years from November 19, 2024 until March 8, 2043.
Pluto's entry into Aquarius on November 19, 2024 marks the start of a new era of redefined power structures. Pluto's journey through Aquarius could lead to a future where equality and freedom are central. Pluto in Aquarius will influence personal growth, power dynamics, sexuality, revolution, and technology. It will encourage people to explore their subconscious and will transform creative drives and self-expression. People will be challenged to take on bigger roles and do work they never imagined they would do.
On November 25th, Mercury turns retrograde. Mercury is retrograde in Sagittarius from November 25th to December 15th. This retrograde cycle is strong for reviewing our beliefs, ideas, sense of adventure, spirit, publishing pursuits, and educational goals. We look at projects, items, situations, problems, and even people in new ways. There can be information clogs that push this new perspective and we become more resourceful and creative.
We might reconsider a long-term dream or vision of our future. It’s a good time for returning to an old study, writing project, or personal interest. This can be a time of scattered thoughts and mental disarray, however. The tactlessness of Mercury in Sagittarius is magnified making it necessary to be especially careful with our choice of wording and topics. The chances of being misinterpreted and missing deadlines or appointments run higher than usual, even more so than with other Mercury retrograde cycles.
The 11:11 portal occurring on November 11th is a time for awakening, manifestation, and transformation. It is a time for humanity to awaken and recognize its unity with other living beings. It is also is an auspicious time to manifest intentions and desires. Some believe that 11:11 is a portal to a new era of creation, and that the number 11 represents new beginnings. The number 11:11 represents balance and seeing it is a reminder to bring harmony to any discord. It is a nudge from the universe to focus on thoughts and intentions.
The number 11 is a Master Number that connects people with their intuition and higher selves. This is significant because it is a mirror of twin numbers and numerology attaches great importance to the number 11. It represents a new beginning, the start of a new phase of life, or the imminence of a positive event. It is a sign from angelic beings that you are on the right path and have spiritual support
Some rituals to perform during the 11:11 portal:
Bathing: Water signs may benefit from bathing before performing a ritual to soothe themselves and wash away emotional barriers.
Mirror method: Sit in front of a mirror, make eye contact with yourself, and release guilt, regrets, and burdens. Then, forgive yourself and others, and vocalize your hopes and wishes.
Candle meditation: Light a candle, use a diffuser with patchouli oil, and meditate for 11 minutes. While meditating, visualize your desires as if they are already happening, and gaze into the flame.
The Whisper Method: Close your eyes, relax, and visualize yourself in your desired environments. Whisper your dreams into the world three times, and believe it's the truth.
Yellow book journaling: Write your dream reality in the present tense on yellow paper with a red pen.
Heart chakra meditation: Use essential oils like frankincense and sandalwood to promote feelings of love and comfort.
Make a wish: November 11 may be the luckiest day of the year for making wishes.
November Holidays
National Native American Heritage Month, also known as American Indian Heritage Month, is celebrated in November to honor the history, culture, and achievements of Indigenous peoples in the United States. In 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed a law making November the official National Native American Heritage Month.
Here are some ways to celebrate Native American Heritage Month:
- Learn about the Indigenous peoples who lived on the land you live on
- Support a Native-led nonprofit
- Spread awareness about the rights of Native Americans
- Plan a garden or lend a hand in a community garden
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Try snowshoeing or basketball, which have Indigenous roots
Día de los Muertos is traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pay respects and remember friends and family members who have died. It is widely observed in Mexico, where it largely developed, and is also observed in other places, especially by people of Mexican heritage.
Marigolds are the traditional flower used in Day of the Dead celebrations, as well as making calaveras (sugar skulls), building home altars called ofrendas with the favorite foods, beverages, photos, and memorabilia of the departed, and visiting graves with items as gifts for the deceased. The celebration is not only focused on the dead. It is also common to give gifts to friends, such as candy sugar skulls, to share traditional pan de muerto with family and friends, and to write calaveras literarias, light-hearted, mock epitaphs dedicated to living friends and acquaintances.
The United States celebrates Thanksgiving as a national holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.In 2024, Thanksgiving will be observed on Thursday, November 28. This is the latest that Thanksgiving can ever be held.
Native Americans in North America celebrated harvest festivals for centuries before Thanksgiving was formally established in the United States. Colonial services for these festivals date back to the late 16th century. The autumnal feasts celebrated the harvest of crops after a season of bountiful growth.
In the 1600s, settlers in Massachusetts and Virginia had feasts to thank for surviving, fertile fields, and their faith. The Pilgrims in Plymouth, Massachusetts, had their Thanksgiving feast in 1621 with the Wampanoag Native Americans. This three-day feast is considered the ”first” Thanksgiving celebration in the colonies.
However, there were other recorded ceremonies of thanks on these lands. In 1565, Spanish explorers and the local Timucua people of St. Augustine, Florida, celebrated a mass of thanksgiving. In 1619, British settlers proclaimed a day of thanksgiving when they reached a site known as Berkeley Hundred on the banks of Virginia’s James River.
Of course, the idea of giving thanks for the harvest is as old as time, with records from the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. Native American cultures, too, have a rich tradition of giving thanks at harvesttime feasts, which began long before Europeans appeared on their soil. And well after the Pilgrims, for more than two centuries, individual colonies and states celebrated days of thanksgiving.
The first national celebration of Thanksgiving was observed in honor of the creation of the new United States Constitution. In 1789, President George Washington issued a proclamation designating November 26 of that year as a “Day of Publick Thanksgivin” to recognize the role of providence in creating the new United States and the new federal Constitution.
John Adams (2nd U.S. president) and James Madison (4th U.S. president) issued proclamations recommending such observances as a “National Day of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer” or a “Day of Public Thanksgiving for Peace.” Thomas Jefferson (3rd U.S. president), however, believed in the separation of church and state and that the federal government should not have the power to dictate when the public should observe a religious demonstration of piety, such as a national day of thanksgiving. It wasn’t until 1863, during the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
